Blacksmither Radio

James Makely is an artist blacksmith in Colorado, USA.  He works full time as an artist blacksmith with the award winning design company, Living Design Studios. What We Talked About At 12 years old, James became interested in the blacksmith craft one year when he saw a blacksmith hammering on an anvil at a local fair. He soon became active in the local Appalachian Blacksmith Association to learn and expand his skills. The book “Country Blacksmithing” by Charles McRaven was a great resource for James, as well as “Professional Smithing” by Darryl Streeter. To further his career as a blacksmith he applied for an apprenticeship with Dragon Forge in Colorado. Craig May introduced James to being a modern blacksmith by using modern blacksmith equipment, hydraulic presses, and power hammers.  He was an apprentice there for 5 years. For the past 10 years, he has been the main artist blacksmith at Living Design Studios, Inc. They design and create large commercial commissions as well as private residential commissions